Slew of stars set to come to town

The stars are aligning for the New Orleans film industry now that the Mardi Gras floats have returned to their dens for another year, with a parade of celebrities -- from Justin Timberlake to Salma Hayek to Bob Newhart -- set to come to town for a handful of high-profile projects over the next couple of months.

Leading the charge will be "Frida" star Hayek, who has signed on to co-star with John C. Reilly ("Chicago, " "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story") in the Universal Pictures horror-fantasy "Cirque du Freak."

A bearded Hayek -- yes, bearded -- will be in New Orleans this month for the film, based on a series of children's books by Darren Shan, according to Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.

The film, which tells the story of a young boy who is drawn into the world of vampires, is in pre-production, with shooting scheduled from Feb. 19 to June 1.

Hayek will play the bearded Madame Truska in a freak show run by a vampiric Reilly, who enlists Josh Hutcherson ("Bridge to Terabithia") to become his assistant in a war against the rival Vampaneze.

Ken Watanabe ("Letters From Iwo Jima") is also slated to star. Paul Weitz will direct.

The big-screen role is Hayek's first since giving birth last fall.

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Also this month, production is scheduled to start in Hammond, among other locations, on the indie drama "The Open Road, " in which singer/heartthrob Timberlake will star alongside Jeff Bridges and Mary Steenburgen.

The film, which has set up a production office in Baton Rouge, will tell the story of a young man trying to reconnect with his father, a legendary athlete, as he hits the open road to get to his ailing mother's bedside.

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Bob Newhart.

Comedy icon Newhart will come to town next month to join former "ER" doc Noah Wyle as Wyle reprises his title role in the made-for-cable-TV adventure "The Librarian 3: The Curse of the Jade Chalice, " to be shot in the New Orleans area from March 1 to 31.

This outing will see Wyle's character, the Indiana-Jones-like adventurer-scholar Flynn Carsen, head to the Bayou State to recover the titular cup, said to possess the power to resurrect Prince Vlad Dracula of Romania.

It might not have household names like Newhart and Hayek, but pre-production on the fourth installment in the "Final Destination" horror franchise has already started, with filming scheduled to crank up in the area this spring.

New Line Cinema's "Final Destination 4, " reportedly to be shot in 3-D -- because severed limbs aren't disturbing enough unless they're flying directly at you -- tells the story of a group of teens who cheat death. Or so they think.

It's set to shoot from March 3 to May 29, with "Snakes on a Plane" director David R. Ellis helming.

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Forest Whitaker.

Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland") is reportedly in talks to play John Ehret High School basketball coach Al Collins, in a Weinstein Co. movie based on the Patriots' post-Katrina 5A championship season.

"Patriots" is set to be shot in Louisiana starting in April, and the film's makers are aiming for a November release.

Tim Story is in talks to direct the film, penned by screenwriter Robert Eisle, who also wrote "The Great Debaters, " another Louisiana-shot Weinstein film starring Whitaker.

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Details are scarce, but the buzz is that the feature "Robosapiens: Rebooted, " inspired by the best-selling toy from the company Wowwee, will shoot in New Orleans starting March 17.

The plot is said to center on a robot who, upon discovering that it was designed for military applications, flees its inventor and strikes up a friendship with a young boy.

Sean McNamara ("Bratz") is set to direct, and Avi Arad ("Spider-Man 3, " "X-Men: The Last Stand") will produce.

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Just weeks after her made-in-New-Orleans comedy "Meet the Spartans" hit theaters -- greeted by critical lashings but respectable box-office performance -- Carmen Electra is set to return to the Crescent City for the Screen Gems comedy "Mardi Gras."

The film, backed in part by the magazine Maxim (read into that what you will), involves a group of college buddies who come to town for Carnival, intent on finding the ultimate party.

Here's betting they find it.

Bret Harrison ("Deal") and Nicolas D'Agosto ("Rocket Science") co-star in the film, set to start shooting by the end of April.

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Movie writer Mike Scott be reached at mscott@ timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3444. To comment about this story or read others by Mike Scott, go to www.nola.com/living and click on his picture.